Floating oil harbor



Jan. 30, 1968 R. G. GIBSON 3,366,088

FLOATING OIL HARBOR Filed Jan. 30, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet l so 52 52 {\O WM52 WHAT- 4 TZ EA X Jan. 30, 1968 R. G. GIBSQN 3,366,038

FLOATING OIL HARBOR Filed Jan. 30, 1967 s Sheets-Sheet 2 //VVEA/T0/Z,05527 6. 6/550 Jan. 30, 1968 R. cs. GIBSON FLOATING OIL HARBOR 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 30, 1967 KW flTTOF/VEYS United States Patent3,366,088 FLOATING OIL HARBOR Robert G. Gibson, R0. Box 731, Mbeya,Tanzania Filed Jan. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 612,388 Claims. (Cl. 114--230)ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Disclosed herein is an elongated mooringfloat, adapted to have tank ships moored on either side thereof. Itsanchor chain is connected to the anchor through a swivel ring rotatableabout a pivot post on the anchor. Fluid passages through the anchor(each terminating in ports) open upwardly through the pivot post andlaterally from the anchor respectively to interconnect fluid linesextending along the bottom with flexible hoses extending downwardly fromthe float at a location on the float which normally remains insubstantial vertical registry with the anchor as the float and the shipsmoored thereto swing about the anchor as a center incident to changingwind and air currents. A further passage establishes a communicationbetween the concave lower side of the anchor and an evacuation hose,whereby to increase the holding power of the anchor.

Summary This invention relates to mooring and liquid transferringapparatus for tank ships and contemplates a single point anchoragetogether with a fluid loading and unloading arrangement allowing theships to swing with the prevailing wind and air currents while alsorising and falling freely with the tides and waves, while maintainingthe anchor chains and hose lines free from entanglement with each otherand without damage to the hose lines or the anchor chains by twisting.

In recent years, there has been a tendency, dictated in large part byeconomic reasons, to build oil tankers of increasingly larger size anddraft, limited only by the depth of existing channels and the congestionof conventional ports and waterways.

The present invention contemplates an apparatus whereby the oil may betaken to or from the ship in deep water rather than to bring the shipsinto already congested waterways and harbors. It contemplates theopening up of open sea oil ports which may be located practicallywithout limitation for servicing of various oil fields, refineries, andthe like.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided a mooring float. Thefloat is adapted to have ships moored thereto, preferably on oppositesides thereof, in such manner that the ships and the mooring float willswing together freely about an anchor on the ocean bottom to which thefloat is connected, so that it will remain generally radially alignedwith the anchor during its swinging movement. The bow of the floatpreferably extends forwardly from the point of connection thereto of theanchor chain to a location over the anchor and roughly coincident withthe axis about which the float swings. From this location, hoses extenddownwardly for communication with passages which open upwardly through afixed portion of the anchor which is encircled by a swivel ring whichprovides a rotary connection between the anchor chains and the anchor.These passages also communicate with liquid lines extending across theocean floor from various land bases.

In accordance with a further feature, the underside of the anchor isconcave and communicates with an evacuation hose, through which theholding power of the anchor may be increased.

3,366,088 Patented Jan. 30, 1968 Description of drawings In theaccompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of theinvention:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the elongated mooring float;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the float and of its associated anchorand hose connections;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged end elevation of the structure shown in FIGURE 2as seen from the left-hand end of FIGURE 2, and further includesfragmentary illustrations of tank ships moored to the elongated float;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged detail elevational view, partially broken away,of the anchor and the liquid hose connections between the anchor and theelongated mooring float;

FIGURE 5 is a section on the line 55 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a section on the line 6--6 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 7 is a plan view of the anchor per se taken substantially on theline 7-7 of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 8 is a relatively reduced plan view of the elongated mooring buoyand its associated tank ships as illustrated in FIGURE 3.

Referring now in detail to the accompanying drawings, it will be seen byreference to FIGURES 1, 2, 3 and 8 that the illustrated structurecomprises the elongated float 10 having anchor chains 12 connected tothe float at a suitable location and extending to the anchor 14 which islocated at a fixed point on the bottom of a body of water. Thearrangement is such that the elongated float 10, together with any shipor ships which may be moored to it, as indicated for instance at 16-46in FIGURES 3 and 8, will swing about the anchor 14 as a center inresponse to the shifting air and water currents, and the longitudinalaxis of the float will remain aligned with the anchor, or in other wordsin a substantially common vertical plane with the anchor, throughout theswinging movement. Oil or liquid conduits 18 extending from suitabledelivery points and/or storage facilities on shorebased locationscommunicate with passages 20 respectively opening laterally outwardlythrough the anchor. Each of said passages 20 extends upwardly through afixed central pivot post 22 of the anchor for communication respectivelywith flexible hoses 24 extending vertically upwardly and led into themooring [float through a tubular guide 26 which permits relative rotaryand longitudinal movement of the hoses. The hoses 24, in turn, extendlongitudinally of the float and have their terminal ends or extensions24' adapted for coupling to liquid conduits 28 on the tank ships mooredalongside the float, the float preferably being provided withconventional booms 30 for supporting and manipulating the free terminalend or coupling portions of these hoses.

The anchor 14- per se is shown as being circular in plan and ofsubstantially inverted cup shape, with its lower concave surfacepresented toward and resting on the bottom of the body of water.Preferably, a flexible evacuation hose 32 from the float communicatesthrough a passage 34 with the downwardly presented concavity 36 of theanchor, as shown in FIGURE 6, whereby said hose may establishcommunication between such concavity and a suitable evacuating pump ordevice (not shown) aboard the float for withdrawing air and/ or waterfrom the concavity so that the pressure of the water on top of theanchor will engage it more firmly with the bottom of the body of Water.The anchor will be preferably of unitary metal construction,incorporating the upwardly projecting pivot post 22 at its center.Rotatably journaled on the post 22 is a swivel collar or ring 38 which,as best shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, has chain or anchor line connections40, preferably in the form of rings or eyelets, carried at the free endsof diametrically opposed and projecting arms 42 affixed to the collar.The two anchor chains or lines 1212, which extend downwardly from thefloat, have their lower terminal ends respectively connected to theseeyes or eyelets 40-40 which are spaced apart sufliciently to minimizerisk of entanglement of the chains with each other. It will be apparentthat the collar 38 is axially positioned on the post 22 between theunderlying main portion of the anchor 14 itself and an overlying radialflange 44.

The liquid conduits 18 from the various shore points are preferablyfixedly coupled or connected to the laterally opening passages 20 of theanchor, as for instance by means of suitable coupling members 46 aflixedto the anchor as shown in FIGURE 5. From these coupling members 46, eachpassage 20 through the anchor is curved to extend and open upwardlythrough the stationary pivot post, in the manner exemplified in FIG- URE6.

For affording a rotary coupling between each of the hoses 24 and therespective passages 20, there is provided at the upper end of each suchpassage a suitable flanged rotary coupling member 48 for rotaryconnection to a conventional rotary coupling member at the lowerterminal end of its associated hose. The evacuation hose 32 is connectedto its passage 34 in similar manner. From the anchor 14, the hosesextend upwardly generally vertically and are guided into the floatthrough the downwardly opening and preferably flared mouth 26 of theguide 26 which slidably receives and rotatably supports the said hosesor hose sections. The guide 26 is preferably disposed forwardly of theconnection between the anchor chains 12 and the float to an extent suchthat it will tend to be positioned in general vertical registry with theanchor 14 itself throughout the swinging movement of the float 10 andwill be subjected primarily to twisting forces on the flexible hosesections. Conventional means, not illustrated, may be provided foryieldably supporting the hoses 24 and 32 in a manner permitting thehoses to slide vertically through the guide 26 incident to rising andfalling of the float 10 due to the action of waves, tides, and incidentto shifting of the guide from its position of vertical registry with theanchor.

In order to adapt the float 10 for its intended function, the same ispreferably formed as a catamaran (as shown in FIGURES l, 2 and 3) tocomprise a pair of generally tubular hulls 50-59 interconnected witheach other in parallel relation by preferably tubular cross framemembers 52. Supported above and in parallel relation to the floats is anelevated preferably tubular hull 54. In the form shown, this elevatedhull 54 is supported by means of vertical tubular members 26 and 56aflixed to the mid portions of the cross members 52 as well as by thediagonal tubular members 58, such as shown in FIGURES l, 2 and 3. Thevertical tubular member 26 nearest the bow of the float has its upperend communicating with the elevated hull through the bottom thereof andalso has its lower end formed, as shown in FIGURE 4, whereby it mayfunction as the hose guide earlier described.

To provide for the mooring of tank ships 16 on either side of theelongated float 10 and in parallelism therewith, the respectiveelongated float hulls 50, here shown as cylindrical in conformation, areencircled by annular fenders 60 for engagement by the hulls of therespective tankers 16. Mooring bits 62 also are provided at suitablelocations on the flat deck 64 of the elevated hull 54. Such hull is alsopreferably surrounded by a marginal railing 66 to afford safety to thecrew members. The particular mode of mooring the ships to maintain themin parallelism with the elongated float may be conventional, asdiagrammatically illustrated in FIG- URE 8.

For insuring that the elongated float 10, together with any ships 16moored thereto, will swing about the anchor 14 in the desired manner,with the hose guide 26 positioned substantially in registry with theanchor, the float structure may include suitable sea and air rudders 68and 70 respectively, which will preferably be adapted for angularpositioning about vertical axes in conventional manner and byconventional means (not shown) within a deck house 72 on the elevatedhull.

With the arrangement illustrated, the flexible hoses 24- and 32extending between the anchor 14 and the elongated float 10 will normallybe roughly coincident with the vertical axis of swinging movement of thefloat and ships, and swinging of the latter will impart a twistingmovement to the respective hoses, tending to twist the hoses about eachother. Each individual hose, however, is free to rotate about itsconnection to the anchor by virtue of its rotary coupling thereto. Thus,where such a rotary coupling is provided, the hoses are relieved of anystrain resulting from twisting of a given hose about its own axis.Preferably, the hoses are interconnected at suitable intervals by clips74, as illustrated in FIGURE 2, so that their twisting movement abouteach other will occur in an orderly manner. Normally the flexibility andlength of the hose sections will be such that they are capable ofpermitting a substantial degree of swinging or angular movement of thefloat and ships without damage. It is contemplated that, whereconventional flexible hoses are utilized in accordance with theinvention, the ships and float may swing for approximately 720 degrees,or through about two complete revolutions, without damage to the hosesections or entanglement with the anchor chains and without interruptionto the liquid transfer operations being conducted.

After the float and ships have swung in a given angular direction for apredetermined extent, it is, of course, desirable to afford means forreversely swinging them in a manner to untwist the hose sections. Forthis purpose, there are provided one or more power-driven propellers 76which may be adapted to exert sideways or lateral thrusts selectively ineither direction to produce the desired swinging or angular movement.During the course of such movement, the sea rudder preferably will bepositioned so as to provide the smallest possible degree of resistance.In particular, it is contemplated that the propellers are carried at thelower ends of depending standards 78 preferably constituting portions ofgiant outboard motors and angularly adjustable about vertical axes sothat the thrust of each propeller may be exerted selectively in anydesired direction.

Thus, the float 10 may be a self-propelled craft capable of movement toand from its desired station under its own power.

In the over-all operation of the invention, the float 10 may be conveyedunder its own power to a desired location and anchored as abovedescribed, with the anchor chains and hose sections interconnectedbetween the float and the anchor as shown. Ships 16 may then be mooredon either side of and parallel to the float in the manner shown inFIGURES 3 and 8, and the hoses 24 may be connected to conduits 28 on therespective ships 16 to withdraw or deliver oil or other liquid.Throughout the liquid transferring operation, the float and itsassociated ships are free to rise and fall with variations in the waterlevel and, if necessary, to compensate for wave action as well as forchange in the draft of the respective ships resulting from charging ordischarging of their respective liquid cargoes. Obviously, thearrangement here is such as to avoid the need for small boats forhandling lines or hoses, and such as will permit the carrying out ofliquid transferring operations, while the ships and mooring buoy swingfreely about the anchor in response to changing air and water currents.Upon the completion of the loading or unloading of a given ship, thehose connections thereto are simply uncoupled, the mooring linesdisconnected, and the ship is free to get under way immediately.

As will be readily apparent from inspection of FIGURE 8, the arrangementhas the important advantage that the tankers or tank ships 16-16 arepresented the oil transfer hoses 24-24 at their conventional receivingpoints amidships.

Moreover, the anchor 14 constitutes a pipeline manifold or multiplecoupling between the various pipe lines or conduits 18 extending overthe bottom of the body of water, and the flexible hoses 24 leading toand through the mooring float for connection to ships. With thisarrangement, it is possible to achieve a simultaneous flow of multipleliquids or materials notwithstanding the swinging of the ships andmooring float for multiple revolutions about the anchor, together withrising and falling thereof in response to waves, tides, and loading ofcargo. It is apparent that the holding power of the anchor may besubstantially enhanced by partially evacuating it through its passage 34and evacuation hose 32, as may be desired especially during roughweather.

Thus, the invention includes a combination anchor and coupling device ormanifold per so as well as the combination thereof in novel manner witha mooring float.

Although the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustratedand described in some detail, it will be readily apparent that variousof the details may be altered or omitted, and in general, that theinvention is subject to modification in various respects, all withoutdeparting from the inventive concept as expressed in the followingclaims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. Mooring apparatus for tank ships, comprising a submerged anchoradapted to rest on the bottom of a body of water, said anchor includinga generally-cylindrical pivot post projecting upwardly therefrom andhaving a vertical cylindrical axis, a plurality of fluid passagesthrough said anchor, each passage opening upwardly through said pivotpost and opening laterally from the anchor at a location below saidpivot post, a swivel ring journaled on the pivot post for free rotarymovement about said vertical axis and for connection to a float on thesurface of said body of water so that the combined actions of changingair and water currents on the float will swing same about the pivot postas a center, and flexible hoses suspended from the float and connectedto the pivot post through the said ring respectively in fluid-tightcommunication with said passages.

2. A mooring apparatus as defined in claim 1, including the improvementwherein said anchor is formed to define a downwardly opening cavity onits underside, and with an evacuation passage for establishingcommunication with a flexible evacuation hose extending from said float.

3. Mooring apparatus as defined in claim 2, further including said floatand flexible means connecting said float to the swivel ring, for angularmovement of the swivel ring and float together around said pivot postand said flexible hoses.

4. Mooring apparatus as defined in claim 3, where-in said float iselongated, and includes means for maintaining it substantially alignedwith the anchor during its angular movement.

5. Mooring apparatus as defined in claim 1, further including said floatand flexible means connecting said float to the swivel ring, for angularmovement of the swivel ring and float together around said pivot postand said flexible hoses.

6. Mooring apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein said float iselongated, and includes means for maintaining it substantially alignedwith the anchor during its angular movement.

7. Mooring apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein said flexible meansis connected to the float at a location displaced from one end thereof,said one end extending over said anchor, said hose being suspended froma location on the float substantially in vertical registry with theanchor.

8. Mooring apparatus as defined in claim 7, including a tubular verticalguide supported at said last-mentioned location on the float, said hosesbeing rotatably suspended through said guide.

9. Mooring apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said float is ofgenerally rectilinear configuration, and includes means for mooringships parallel thereto and on gpposite sides thereof, for angularmovement with the oat.

10. Mooring apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein said means formaintaining the float substantially aligned with the anchor includesboth sea and air rudders.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,305,507 6/1919 Froger 114-2063,074,082 1/1963 Griebe 9-8 MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

TRYGVE BLIX, Examiner.

